Miami Herald - June 14, 2006
Jacob Goldstein, jgoldstein@MiamiHerald.com

The state received $11.38 per person in fiscal year 2005, just over half the national average of $20.99 per person. Alaska, which topped the list, received $53.36 per person.

"Where you live shouldn't determine the level of protection you are getting," said Jeff Levi, executive director of Trust for America's Health, the public health advocacy group that released the report. "We probably need to be doing a better job of linking distribution of resources to need."

The report looked at funds distributed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which supports state and local programs including bioterrorism preparedness, HIV prevention and childhood immunizations.

The analysis did not include federal money that directly funds medical care through programs such as public clinics and Medicare.

THE POLITICAL ANGLE

One key factor in landing money may be having a powerful voice in Congress.

"You have to look at who is head of those committees -- they bring home the bread for their states," said Dr. Earl Fox, a University of Miami professor who formerly ran the Alabama Department of Public Health and served as a senior official in the Department of Health and Human Services.

Alaska received 2.5 times the national average in per capita funds; Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens chaired the Senate appropriations committee through the end of 2004. Pennsylvania, which ranked second with $44.41 per person, is represented by Sen. Arlen Specter, who chairs the appropriations subcommittee that funds public health.

Florida has historically paid more in tax revenues to the federal government than it receives -- an issue the delegation has tried to address. The state has four members on the House appropriations committee, none of whom could be reached for comment Tuesday. Neither of Florida's senators is on the Senate appropriations committee.

Trust for America's Health, which published the report, is funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, among others. Its website describes its mission as "working to make disease prevention a national priority."

WHERE THE MONEY GOES

Florida received just over $200 million from the CDC, according to the report. The largest chunk -- more than $70 million -- was for childhood immunizations.

"Are we getting a fair amount of money from CDC [for immunizations]? Yes," said Charles Alexander, who runs the state's immunization program.

Other large categories included bioterrorism preparedness, at $40 million, and HIV prevention, at $32 million.

Tom Liberti, chief of the state's HIV/AIDS program, said the CDC's system for allocating funds for HIV prevention was established more than a decade ago.

"We have been on record with CDC in asking them to look at a.. .reallocation, based on the fact that we now have 18 million people in the state of Florida, that we have the third-largest AIDS epidemic in the United States, [and] we have more people living with HIV and AIDS than we have had in the past," Liberti said.

The CDC considers numerous factors in doling out the money. Some funds are distributed according to predetermined formulas, while others are given out based on competitive grants.

"What we try to do is take a look at where health gaps are, where programs are needed to help in a particular type of disease, and preparedness," said CDC spokesman Von Roebuck. "There are a lot of factors."

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Miami Herald staff writer Lesley Clark contributed to this report.

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